Christopher Nolan, Batman, and Authentic Masculinity for Catholic Men

BY G. P. GALLE

In 2012, a movie called The Dark Knight Rises will be released. It is the third in the Batman trilogy, written and directed by the media giant Christopher Nolan. The first two films grossed billions of dollars. The third will probably do the same. These films did more than just box office success. They have ignited a blitz of comic book movies. But for a Catholic man, they do even more.

Nolan tends to keep his religious and political beliefs to himself, but his films speak to universal truths that diverge almost forcefully (but elegantly) from Hollywood. For instance, Batman Begins, the first in the film series, features a wealthy philanthropist in Bruce Wayneʼs Dad. Further, and most outside the boundary of traditional Hollywood, the Senior Wayne is a good Father. A mentor. His words, even as he lies dying in the street, allow Bruce Wayne to come to grips with fear, and for this reason to save Gotham City.

There is enough to write on simply through the noble father of Bruce Wayne in Batman Begins, but the focus of this article is actually about the second film in the series, The Dark Knight. The Dark Knight, a movie of incredible foresight and genius, is perhaps the strongest tale in the Batman legend.

I have watched The Dark Knight several times, and as with most Christopher and Jonathan Nolan scripts, there is far more to the story than is apparent on the first watch. The first time through, one will see the Joker tear through the city destroying everything. His reasoning seems arbitrary, insane. And in this insanity, one has trouble keeping up. In the fever pitch madness, Bruce Wayne (Batman) does not know what to do. His butler, Alfred, provides him advice.

Alfred:...some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.

Bruce Wayne: People are dying, Alfred. What would you have me do?

Alfred: Endure, Master Wayne. Take it. They'll hate you for it, but that's the point of Batman. He can be the outcast. He can make the choice that no one else can make — the right choice.

And so Bruce Wayne does. Though in the end, the Joker is thwarted for different reasons. His final death trap, meant to play on the fear and judgmental attitude of mankind, fails because of all the men acting courageously. Indeed it is not just Batman that saves Gotham, but Gothamʼs goodness that saves Gotham.

This is what I got on the first watch. On the second, third, fourth, and fifth time through I started seeing something new: the Jokerʼs manipulation of everyone in the film. The Joker is not arbitrary, but in fact enormously calculated. Ironically, he is the superman Nietzsche touted. He is also the terrorist showing how fallen man is. He is a brutal, cruel, man-hating nihilist. In a nutshell, he is Satan.

In turn, throughout the film, Batman struggles to do the right thing, and makes many mistakes. He needs his friends, who also fail many times in the film, though they too are attempting good. It seems many times that they are fighting a battle that cannot be won. They cannot predict the Joker, because they are so unlike him. He is destruction for destructionʼs sake. It is only through blind but noble decisions can does he lose.

We as Catholic Men are in the same boat. Sin and evil can hit us in ways we do not expect, and hit quickly. We have pressure - pressure hitting us on all sides. And this pressure comes from a force desiring to show our weaknesses, our unworthiness of redemption. This evil force is real and far more intelligent than us. Our only choice is the same as Batmanʼs - we must endure. We endure as Christians, as outcasts, making the hard choices and being hated for it. And must we do so by continuously choosing good, despite the appearance that something else might be the better choice. The mask that we put on is Christʼs, for it is Him that lets us make the hard decisions.

Again, I am not sure that Nolan meant to have any Christian metaphors in his film. What he did have was a lot of truth. The result was that Jesus appeared, though hidden. This film is not meant for the faint of heart. It is, as its title suggests, dark. But it portrays serious truths about humanity, and how good does triumph over seemingly impossible odds.

About GP Galle G.P. Galle, Jr. has spent over 10 years studying the intersection of faith, politics, and pop culture. He is a writer and producer, previous works including A Dream Worth Living a culture of live musical, and vivace, a Christian Art extravaganza. He has a law degree from the University of Alabama Law School, and graduate magna cum laude from Auburn University.